Bosonic systems with negative Wigner function superposition states are fundamentally witnessing nonlinear quantum dynamics beyond linearized systems and, recently, have become essential resources of quantum technology with many applications. Typically, they appear due to sophisticated combination of external drives, nonlinear control, measurements or strong nonlinear dissipation of subsystems to an environment. Here, we propose a conceptually different and more autonomous way to obtain such states, avoiding these ingredients, using purely sudden interaction decay in the paradigmatic interacting qubit-oscillator system weakly coupled to bath at thermal equilibrium in a low-temperature limit. We demonstrate simultaneously detectable unconditional negative Wigner function and quantum coherence and their qualitative enhancement employing more qubits.
Bosonic systems with negative Wigner function superposition states are fundamentally witnessing nonlinear quantum dynamics beyond linearized systems and, recently, have become essential resources of quantum technology with many applications. Typically, they appear due to sophisticated combination of external drives, nonlinear control, measurements or strong nonlinear dissipation of subsystems to an environment. Here, we propose a conceptually different and more autonomous way to obtain such states, avoiding these ingredients, using purely sudden interaction decay in the paradigmatic interacting qubit-oscillator system weakly coupled to bath at thermal equilibrium in a low-temperature limit. We demonstrate simultaneously detectable unconditional negative Wigner function and quantum coherence and their qualitative enhancement employing more qubits.
In recent years, significant progress has been made to push micro-, nano-, and optomechanical systems into the quantum regime. The common goal is to demonstrate and control quantum effects in these systems, which enable applications in quantum metrology and quantum information processing. This process is hampered by dissipation, i.e., the interaction of these systems with their environment. \n \n \nIn this thesis, we focus on two different aspects of dissipative nonlinear systems in the quantum regime. In the first part, we study how states with genuinely quantum properties can be generated by a continuous measurement of the interaction between the quantum system and its environment. This approach turns dissipation into a useful tool to generate nonclassical states of light and matter, which have been identified as important resources for quantum-enhanced sensing, quantum communication, and quantum error processing. We discuss the generation of mechanical states with a sub-Poissonian phonon-number distribution in an optomechanical phonon laser beyond the resolved-sideband regime, and we propose a heralded protocol to generate nonclassical states by photon-counting measurements. We apply this protocol to a Kerr nonlinear oscillator and show that it enables the creation of states with a negative Wigner function although the steady-state Wigner function of this system is strictly positive. \n \n \nIn the second part of this thesis, we focus on self-sustained oscillators in the quantum regime. If a weak perturbation is applied to a self-sustained oscillator, the oscillator can adjust its frequency of oscillation. This effect is called synchronization and has been identified as a universal feature of many different complex classical systems, e.g., electrical circuits, biological systems, and power grids. In recent years, several theoretical proposals have been put forward to study synchronization in the quantum regime. However, an experimental demonstration of quantum effects in synchronization has still been missing. \n \n \nWe develop an analytical framework to study the synchronization of a quantum self-sustained oscillator to an external signal. This framework establishes a unified description of the above-mentioned proposals and allows us to identify the quantum-mechanical resource of synchronization. Based on these findings, we discover a novel interference-based quantum synchronization blockade effect and we derive a bound on the maximum degree of synchronization that can be achieved in the quantum regime. The framework also reveals a large freedom in tailoring a quantum system that is able to synchronize. Taking advantage of this freedom, we propose alternative implementations of quantum self-sustained oscillators that reduce the experimental challenges. \n \n \nFinally, we use digital quantum simulation to implement a quantum self-sustained oscillator on a current quantum computer. Applying an external signal to the oscillator, we verify typical features of quantum synchronization, and we demonstrate interference-based quantum synchronization blockade. Our results are the first experimental demonstration of genuinely quantum effects in synchronization and they show that state-of-the-art noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers are powerful enough to implement and study realistic dissipative quantum systems. \n
The linear and phase insensitive absorption of a single quanta via coherent interactions with a saturable system, even a single ground state qubit, is sufficient to deterministically generate quantum non-Gaussian states in an oscillator, even stimulated merely by increasing thermal oscillator energy. However, the resultant states only approach Fock states and therefore do not exhibit quantum coherence. Here we overcome this limitation using a minimal step: a nonlinear phase-insensitive absorption process added to the linear one. The coherent addition of such individually passive processes allows coherence to emerge and increase in phase space without an external drive and with minimal interaction requirements. The coherence of quantum non-Gaussian states emerges because the linear and nonlinear absorption processes are not mutually passive. In the simplest case rotationally symmetric Wigner functions of the oscillator Fock states convert their many negative regions to an extremely complex asymmetric structure in sharp contrast to the rotational symmetry of those obtained by the individual interactions. We extend this case to include an unsaturable absorber (oscillator) and analyse switching between linear and nonlinear absorptions, suitable for broad classes of experiments.
Driven-dissipative Kerr cavities serve as a versatile platform for generating nonclassical states, such as quantum cat states and high-photon-number Fock states, which are essential for quantum information processing. Building on the quantized Lugiato-Lefever equation (QLLE), which predicts steady-state coherent state superpositions in multi-mode Kerr resonators, and the framework for engineering Kerr nonlinearity ratios to mitigate spectral crowding in coupled oscillators, we propose an integrated approach for precise quantum control. By engineering the Kerr ratio K1/K2 to approximate an incommensurate value using complex rational approximations, we eliminate parasitic degeneracies and enable selective addressing of transitions in the QLLE steady state. Employing a Magnus expansion, we derive an effective Hamiltonian that incorporates Stark-shift corrections, facilitating deterministic synthesis of entangled cat states and Fock states with fidelities exceeding 99.9%. Numerical simulations using QuTiP validate robustness against dissipation and thermal noise, demonstrating quantum hysteresis and Wigner negativity in multi-mode configurations. This synthesis bridges dissipative phase transitions with architectural control, offering a blueprint for scalable bosonic quantum processors in circuit QED. The Wigner function plays a pivotal role in characterizing these nonclassical states, providing a phase-space representation that reveals quantum interference effects. In our framework, the emergence of negative values in the Wigner function for the central mode confirms the non-Gaussian nature of the cat states, as dictated by Hudson’s theorem, which states that only Gaussian pure states have non-negative Wigner functions everywhere [21]. This negativity arises from the interference term in the cat-state Wigner expression, quantifying macroscopic quantum coherence and serving as a witness for entanglement in multi-mode systems.For instance, our simulations at F = 2.0 yield a minimum Wigner value of approximately -0.006, highlighting the system’s departure from classical behavior and its utility for bosonic error correction, where cat codes leverage phase-space separation to suppress bit-flip errors exponentially with cat size. Furthermore, the relation to Wigner functions extends to dynamical properties: the steady-state Wigner negativity is robust against thermal noise due to the dissipative stabilization mechanism, aligning with results from driven Bose-Hubbard models where two-mode cat states maintain negativity under loss [46]. In the QLLE context, the multi-mode extension introduces spatial localization, where the Wigner function’s negative regions correspond to soliton-like structures, as evidenced by photon population distributions [0.33, 0.90, 0.33]. This negativity is not merely a feature but a consequence of fundamental limits on classical simulability, relating to the Gottesman-Knill theorem’s extension to continuous variables, where non-Gaussian operations are necessary for universal quantum computation. Quantum hysteresis, observed in our hysteresis plots, is intimately linked to the Wigner representation through the bifurcation dynamics. Near the codimension-2 point, the system’s bistability manifests as distinct paths in phase space, with Wigner functions switching between Gaussian-like (low-photon) and cat-like (high-photon) forms, supported by spectral theory of Liouvillians that guarantees metastable states in dissipative phase transitions [30]. The forward and backward sweeps in our simulations demonstrate this path dependence, with the Wigner negativity peaking in the high-drive regime, underscoring the role of Kerr nonlinearity in engineering quantum resources. Overall, the Wigner function’s negativity serves as a diagnostic tool for the efficacy of our engineered ratios, directly tying to experimental verifiability in circuit QED setups, where homodyne measurements can reconstruct Wigner distributions to confirm cat-state fidelity. This work not only advances control protocols but also highlights the profound interplay between phase-space quasi-probabilities and dissipative quantum engineering, paving the way for fault-tolerant bosonic qubits.
Negativity of the Wigner function is arguably one of the most striking non-classical features of quantum states. Beyond its fundamental relevance, it is also a necessary resource for quantum speedup with continuous variables. As quantum technologies emerge, the need to identify and characterize the resources which provide an advantage over existing classical technologies becomes more pressing. Here we derive witnesses for Wigner negativity of single mode and multimode quantum states, based on fidelities with Fock states, which can be reliably measured using standard detection setups. They possess a threshold expectation value indicating whether the measured state has a negative Wigner function. Moreover, the amount of violation provides an operational quantification of Wigner negativity. We phrase the problem of finding the threshold values for our witnesses as an infinite-dimensional linear optimisation. By relaxing and restricting the corresponding linear programs, we derive two hierarchies of semidefinite programs, which provide numerical sequences of increasingly tighter upper and lower bounds for the threshold values. We further show that both sequences converge to the threshold value. Moreover, our witnesses form a complete family – each Wigner negative state is detected by at least one witness – thus providing a reliable method for experimentally witnessing Wigner negativity of quantum states from few measurements. From a foundational perspective, our findings provide insights on the set of positive Wigner functions which still lacks a proper characterisation.
The focus of the study is the free quantum evolution of Duffing oscillators which are nonlinearly coupled to bosonic environments. The work evolves from a particular system of an undamped, nonlinear graphene resonator mode to a more generalized framework of oscillator modes interacting with two different configurations of bosonic environments. In a model with no dissipation, the nonlinear Duffing oscillator allows an initial coherent state to evolve into a macroscopic superposition state, a Schrödinger Cat state. By further subjecting a Duffing mode to nonlinear damping, the parity conservation due to the two-quanta system-bath exchange, brings the system to a nonclassical steady state - an equilibrium state very much different from the ground state. The quantum features of this state are analysed for temperatures above zero and in a more realistic scenario where the interplay of linear and nonlinear decay is taken into account. The scope of the study is then extended to bipartite systems of nonlinear interacting oscillators, each nonlinearly coupled to a bosonic environment. The generation of entanglement in initially separable states and entanglement's asymptotic behaviour are investigated. One of the outcomes is the Duffing nonlinearity not affecting the entanglement asymptote. Therefore, finally a bipartite system of harmonic oscillators, with nonlinear system-bath coupling is initiated with entangled, squeezed states, and the asymptotic behaviour is evaluated in the parameter space of temperature, squeezing and dissipation rate. This is done for common and individual reservoir configurations, and either zero or non-zero inter-mode coupling.
Coupling an oscillator to a single two-level system is one of the most fundamental interactions in quantum physics. We report on a dynamical effect during which a thermal state of an oscillator is unconditionally transformed to a highly nonclassical state with negative Wigner function values by mere absorbtion by a single uncontrolled two-level system. This complements the traditional test of Rabi oscillations and it serves as a simply measurable witness that the process in question is highly nonclassical. The process is experimentally feasible with possible experimental implementation in a number of experimental platforms with intrinsic Jaynes-Cummings interaction and it has the potential of enabling deterministic generation of nonclassical quantum states.